KUALA LUMPUR – Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) will be relocating to Merdeka 118 from its present location in Menara PNB at Jalan Tun Razak, which it occupied since 1985, president and group chief executive Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn said.
“The move will begin in the fourth quarter of 2023 and we will be fully operational in the new office by the end of the year.
“Our relocation to Merdeka 118, a triple platinum-rated green building by LEED, Green Real Estate, and Green Building Index, will enable us to reduce our Scope 2 emissions, as it is a high-performance energy optimised green building,” he said in the company’s annual report released today.
PNB, which owns Merdeka 118 via its wholly-owned subsidiary PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd, will occupy 17 floors of the skyscraper.
The tower will be welcoming Maybank in the first quarter of 2025 as the financial institution confirmed the relocation of its corporate head office of Menara Maybank.
The bank is slated to occupy 33 floors with a total occupancy of 650,000 sq ft.
Merdeka 118 made its international debut at the 2022 Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Conference in Chicago, the United States, which was attended by over 50 countries, where the Merdeka 118 tower was formally acknowledged as the second-tallest building in the world and the tallest in Southeast Asia.
Ending the year under review on a high note, the building celebrated the completion of its glass facade as the final panel was safely installed.
Merdeka 118 consists of approximately 18,000 glass panels that make up the tower’s crystalline façade and the installation of the final panel marks 95% completion of the tower.
Going digital
Citing the move as the first of two most important changes for PNB this year, Zulqarnain said the second one was the expansion of its advisory offerings and enhancement of its digital channels.
“The demands of the current and future operating environment require us to adapt to make the most of future opportunities, which is why we are focusing on five key areas over the next few years.
“One of the many planned initiatives is the launch of a robo advisor that will be part of the myASNB app,” he said.
He added that the robo advisor would facilitate the process of selecting suitable investments based on an individual’s risk tolerance and investment goals through its algorithm. – Bernama, June 26, 2023
